Cuniculous
by kuilaoshi
Summary: [AU - Rabbit boy! Kurapika] Communication is key.


Flexiloquent - Pertaining to someone who speaks ambiguously.

Like an animal trapped in a cage – well, that's what he was. Kurapika lay curled in his cramped and oppressive cage, long rabbit ears drooping low. The Phantom Troupe kept him here for years – at least four, if Kurapika's memory was good. He'd gotten used to it. Get kicked around, starved, maybe get a scratch behind the ear from one of the members, get stomped on, get his ears pulled and torn: there was something routine about the way he was mistreated that made things even harder for him.

He was so used to living in a pack – the strong helped the weak, and everyone survived and thrived together. But the human world was nothing like that; humans left the weak to struggle and die, ignoring, not caring. It shattered the young bun's view of the outside world. The metal cage he was trapped in was cold, icy, unforgiving, and just like the terrible world he'd been thrust into.

These crooks killed the rest of his clan, and kept him...for what? To have some fun with? To torture and starve until he broke?

He refused to yield, though.

He refused to submit to this.

He wasn't going to break.

Kurapika's memory was fuzzy. He remembered being thrown in the back of a truck earlier this morning, and hearing something about 'getting bored of it' as he righted himself and the back slammed shut. His ears perked up slightly as he realized that maybe the leader was talking about him. Freedom – or the sweet release of death – might await him.

His cage hurled violently around the speeding truck as it went over bumps, but Kurapika didn't care if it meant freedom. Revenge was something he wanted, sure, but not until he got stronger. He'd fight the Troupe on his own.

The truck skidded to a stop abruptly, plastering Kurapika's cage, and by extension Kurapika, to the front. This sudden strike to his head dazed him; he registered the leader's black coat as he reached for the cage, but didn't realize he'd been thrown out of the truck until his cage shattered on the rain-slicked street. The truck quickly sped away, not waiting to see if he survived the impact.  
Kurapika sat back on his haunches, his ears twitching nervously as he scanned the dark street around him. He was free, but now what? The air was icy and unforgiving; it tore at the ragged traditional clothes that he had on, making him shiver. He pressed his large ears back against his head, slinking into a nearby alleyway to catch his bearings.

He slumped against a wall, heart rattling against his ribcage as he hurriedly checked his surroundings. No one seemed to be following him, but he was still ready to bolt at any time. Looking up, he read the sign that hung above his head – "Valkyrie Medical School." They dumped him next to a medical school? How lucky. Or maybe not.

By the number of lights on in the buildings around him, Kurapika guessed it had to be late at night – if he was lucky, he could sleep in the alley and be gone before people started to wake up. His body still buzzed with fear, but he settled back against the wall, uneasy as he stretched his aching legs out in front of him.

His ears shot up as he heard a door creak open and a flood of light cross the pavement. His chest heaved and his heart blared – he couldn't hear anything but the sound of blood rushing through his body, fight-or-flight response kicking in full force. He readied himself to scurry away, but the voice he heard was so warm that he stopped himself.

"Oi, is there someone there?"

Kurapika relaxed slightly as he saw the tall man standing in the doorway, black hair almost as disheveled as the rumpled button-down and slacks he wore. He was nothing special, but something about him made Kurapika's heart become less audible. The rabbit hunched up, side-eyeing the man as he tried to make himself as small as possible.

The passing headlights of a car make Kurapika visible, and the man almost jumps, face immediately concerned. "H-hey! Are you hurt?" He worriedly rushes over, and Kurapika's ears spring up, red eyes flashing as he bears his sharp teeth. "Whoa, what the..." The man stumbles back, taking in the boy's strange rabbit ears and red eyes. "Uh...are you alright?"

The man seemed to actually be worried about him, but how could Kurapika be sure this guy wasn't another creep like the Troupe? He made a soft snarling sound, about as much of one as he could make, and puffed himself up as much as he could.

Something warm trickled down his arm, and he looked over, still red eyed. He'd been hurt – there was a deep gash in his upper arm, and a steady stream of blood poured out. Humbled by all the blood, he made a soft, frightened noise, looking back to the man and hesitantly showing off his arm wound.

The man came closer and crouched down. "Damn, that looks pretty nasty, but it looks fresh, so..." He offered his hand to Kurapika as he laid the ragged briefcase he'd been holding on the ground. "Let me see your arm. I need to disinfect it."

Kurapika pulls back his arm dubiously. He already regretted trying to seek help – this would probably end in being sold again.

The man sighs. "Do you not trust me? Not like I can blame you. You don't even know my name yet." He clears his throat. "I'm Leorio. Nice to meet you."

Kurapika stared at him, still untrusting, still ready to run.

"Can you...not speak?" Leorio asked, edging a little closer.

Kurapika nodded slowly.

"Can you write?"

His nod was a little quicker this time.

"Alright. Let me just..." Leorio opened up his briefcase and pulled out a pen and paper, handing it to a still trembling Kurapika. His ears were twitching every which way – he wasn't caged anymore, but he still felt trapped. His hands shook furiously as he held the pen.

"Could you tell me your name?" Leorio asked.

Kurapika scribbled down a response and presented it to him. 'My name is Kurapika.'

Leorio smiled warmly, almost seeming comforted by the communication. "How do you pronounce it?"

Kurapika thought for a second before shrugging his shoulders. He could write it, but he had no idea how to say it in human language.

"Okay...let me try. Ku-rah-pee-ka. Right?"

Pondering this, Kurapika nodded slowly. No one had ever said his name out loud before, so anything would do, really.

"Alright." Leorio smiled, apparently pleased with getting Kurapika's name right. "Where did you come from?"

Kurapika's brow furrowed as images of the Troupe flashed in his head. And then came the memories of his clan...he scrawled something down and pushed the pad of paper roughly back at Leorio. 'My family and comrades were all killed. I was captured and tortured for a while'

Leorio grimaced at this, expression darkening. "I'm sorry. That's absolutely terrible," he says, voice low.

Kurapika had never felt anything like this before, or at least in a while – someone giving him sympathy. His eyes faded to their regular grey and his ears rose to how they usually were. The dark haired man's eyes softened at the sight of Kurapika seeming to calm down, though his muscles were still clearly tense. "Alright, let me patch you up."

The blonde furrowed his brow in thought before hesitantly extending his arm, fresh blood still seeping out of the oozing wound, greyish shirt torn and spotted with red. Leorio smiled to reassure him as he pulled out a rag and poured a strange liquid on it. "This is gonna hurt. Just bear with me for a second," he murmurs lowly, rubbing the rag into Kurapika's open wound.

Kurapika lets out a ragged squeak, the most noise he could make. He trembled and his brain screamed at him to run, blood pumping in his ears as pain coursed through him.

"H-hey! Calm down, it's okay!" Leorio stuttered, hand squeezing Kurapika's as he pulled the rag away and rummaged through his briefcase for a roll of gauze. Kurapika's heart was still beating a mile a minute. Even though this man didn't seem to be any threat at all, any sort of pain triggered his fight-or-flight response.

"Now I'm gonna bandage you up, alright?" Leorio gently wrapped the bandage around Kurapika's open, newly disinfected wound. Kurapika watched motionlessly as he pulled the bandage, taped it down, and put it back in his damaged briefcase.

The dim lighting in the alleyway made Kurapika look smaller, darker than he actually was.

"There, you're all good now. Aren't you?" Leorio looked him over a few times as Kurapika nodded hesitantly. Leorio sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So – I guess you've got nowhere to go."

Kurapika nodded solemnly.

"That's what I thought. Well, I..." Leorio scratched the back of his head – was he really going to do this and risk campus security coming after him?

"You can stay with me, in my dorm, if you want. 'S no problem, I've got plenty of room."

Kurapika's ears perked up at the mention of this, and he flipped to a new page of the notebook to write something down.

"Thank you."


End file.
